After spending two years as an assistant to John Hastings, Mercy coach Kathryn Schumann has taken the reins of the girls cross country team. But a change at the top hasn't changed the results; the Tigers completed an undefeated regular season for the third straight year Tuesday.

"I think it's been a pretty seamless transition," Schumann said. "We lost our No. 1 runner last year [Kaleigh Roberts], so I think going into this season, that was a major blow to our team, but it forced them to step up a little bit."

Mercy beat Lauralton Hall and Hamden to finish 9-0 and is ranked No. 8 in the Connecticut cross country coaches' poll. Schumann said that Bridgid Selfors, Mackenzie Pias, Hannah Albert and Talia Staiger have been the Tigers' top runners.

"They've all improved from last year," Schumann said. "They've all stepped up. They've definitely shown leadership and developed a lot of confidence individually and for our team as well."

Schumann said that after losing Roberts, the team didn't have a clear-cut No. 1 runner, as evidenced by Selfors and Pias tying for first place at Hamden.

Mercy will compete at the Wickham Invitational Saturday as championship season begins.

"We're just trying to be confident and treat the race like any other race ... a few of our girls in our top seven haven't been to Wickham Park yet," Schumann said. "Our kids are excited to see it. We haven't really seen a course like Wickham yet, it's a true cross country course, there's hills, there's mud. You've got everything in there. It definitely is kind of in a class of its own."

Schumann said it's a disadvantage for teams to not compete at Wickham before the class meets. Last year, Mercy finished second to Wilton in Class L, and the Tigers are in position to compete once again.

Schumann said that although the regular season is over, the girls haven't discussed where they want to be as a team the first week of November.

"We haven't really touched on many goals," Schumann said. "We've been focused on the process of everything. At this point of the season, you're just trying to polish up areas that need a little tweaking."

Cheshire Strong in SCC

The Cheshire boys cross country team nearly finished undefeated in the regular season. The Rams, ranked No. 9 in the state poll, are 8-1 heading into the Wickham Invitational. Cheshire's only loss came Tuesday, a 23-37 loss to Amity, but the Rams are looking forward to Wickham.

"This meet is great preparation for not only the state meets but also the New England Championships, which is held at Wickham this year as well," Cheshire coach Will Lathrop said. "It gives our kids one more race to figure out where on the course they can make their moves to move up spots."

Seniors Mark Fusco and Russell Adam, and freshman Brendan Murray have been Cheshire's top three. Jordan Kolpak, Steven Caldwell, Jake Lawlor and Ryan Shalagan round out the Rams' varsity seven. Lathrop said the team's goal is to make it to New Englands, after finishing in seventh place and one spot away from qualifying last year.

"We also look to do well in the SCC Championships and compete for a conference championship next week," Lathrop said.